Author: lemsy

John LeMasney (lemsy) is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful Nelson County, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.

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Illustration Inkscape portfolio

163 of 365 is a smack in the face

Smack to the face
Smack to the face
Smack to the face
Smack to the face

So, as someone who grew up watching 10 year old reruns of campy Batman shows, I was imprinted with the message of typography as softcore violence. Oh, you too? So anyway, I recently saw an article on the topic of typography in the 60’s Batman series, and decided to make some of my own.

In Inkscape, I added the text in a clear font, converted to path, and applied the bend live path effect. I bent the text (as a path) and then tweaked each of the corners of each letter with the node tool. I converted the bent path to a new path without the live path effect, and rotated it to fit better in the frame.

Using the shape tool, I created a star, converted it to path, and used the node tool to tweak it. I made the stroke a bit transparent on the star to give it a few colors at the edge. I duplicated the text and made it into a shadow by choosing a flat gray color and blurring it a bit. It was a lot of fun, and it took me back to a lot of childhood afternoons.

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portfolio requests

162 of 365 is a #library wish revisited in #Inkscape #typography

When in doubt, ask a librarian
When in doubt, ask a librarian

So, you may think you saw this design recently, but in fact this is an altered version of that design. One of my favorite librarians Marie Radford made a suggestion that made a lot of sense to me:

I’d like to see a slightly different message. How about “ask a librarian” instead of “visit your library”? Two reasons, 1) highlights the contribution of librarians, 2) opens up possibilities for virtual reference, phone, txt, facebook, etc. to get help rather than just the physical library.

It made perfect sense to me, Marie, after you brought the logic of it to light. If I had thought about it just a little bit (or a lot) more, I might have had the insight to make that jump, but my view was limited. I am thrilled and thankful that you cared enough about the message and the design to make the suggestion. It’s people like you who have helped me the most in this project to grow not only in my design, but in my worldview.

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professional activities professional experience research interests teaching experience technology

Ewing CLC presents: An Introduction to Social Networks

A superphone
Image by lemasney via Flickr

Venue: Ewing Computer Learning Center

Abstract: In this presentation, I will present the broad concepts shared in various social networks, how they can be used, why they should be used, and some concerns that people have with them.

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MGHy2cSujK3xqMHjjPxv9TTLW6mi1Nb8wbOcVx-gQg8/edit?usp=sharing

Press release: “”“An Introduction to Today’s Social Networking”

Computer Program to Explore
Facebook, Twitter, etc. June 1st


Today hundreds of million of people take advantage of ‘Social Networking’ websites through which they share information on a variety of topics and interests as varied as our society and human history,” says John LeMasney, Manager of Technology Training at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. “Some people, however, find the concept of ‘social networking’ to be confusing, pointless, and a waste of time. I want to explain why it does not have to be.” LeMasney will explore some of the most popular social networking websites in a program entitled “An Introduction to Today’s Social Networking”. “There are literally hundreds of online communities one can join, each with their own culture and purpose,” says LeMasney. “During my program, I will demonstrate how one can use popular websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn and WordPress. I plan to highlight their key features, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as how to use them safely.” As Manager of Technology Training at Rider University since 1998, LeMasney assists faculty, staff and students in integrating technology into their work, classroom, and extracurricular activities. A Fine Arts graduate of the University of Arts in Philadelphia, he recently received a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with distinction from Rider University. He holds LPI Level One Certification in Linux Administration and chairs the Ewing Web Committee. A self-proclaimed “open web advocate and open source evangelist,” LeMasney is also a designer, artist, writer, technologist and consultant who lives and works in the Ewing area. You can find and connect with John, known as “lemasney” on Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail.

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portfolio

161 of 365 is a note of gravitas in #Inkscape #line

Bang
Bang

So this post is about the way that we are often protected from the horrors of war in our society. I know that I myself was thankful today for those who gave their lives in the service of our country, but that it’s difficult for me to really know or appreciate what they went through because my societal interpretation of war is an awful lot like this graphic above. It’s clean, neat and straight. It’s easy to see and understand at a glance. It’s not complicated or distorted.

I’m no fan of war, especially those we’re in now, but they do take place, and as a result, people die. If you talk with a veteran, or look at raw footage on sites like Live Leak you might be able to begin to gather some superficial intrinsic understanding of the reality of war, but even that is likely wishful thinking. For those of us who have not seen war, our feelings about it are likely as shaped by movies or video games or news stories as anything else. As a result, I think it’s easy to let Memorial Day be a day about shopping or almost anything but memorial. I hope it’s just me, and that I’m missing what’s really going on.

Thanks to all of those who gave their lives pursuing our want to be free.

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portfolio requests

A birthday cake wish by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #cc #design

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!

A birthday cake wish by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #cc #design
A birthday cake wish by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #cc #design

I recently wished an old friend, and a very good friend of this project, Craig Smith, a happy birthday, and he replied “Thanks John, now how about a birthday cake sketch? :D”. I love that! Done, buddy. You all can use it too. 😉

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portfolio

159 of 365 is a zen charm in #inkscape

Lotus charm
Lotus charm

I saw a charm just like this one on Etsy and thought it would make a good illustration for the bright metal bevel filter. In Inkscape, I created the circle using the ellipse tool, then created the other shapes with the Bezier tool, flipping rotating and duplicating the lotus leaves as I went. I used the union function to make them all a single object, then applied the filters/bevels/bright metal. Hope you like it!